Broken but Mending
by hopeforthefandoms
Summary: What happened to Glinda after Elphie's "death"? Did she ever find a guy? Or at least a friend? Did she tell anyone she was best friends with Elphie? I don't intend to ship Glinda with anyone. Different from the typical post-musical Glinda. Rated T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey! I hope you like my first Wicked fanfiction! Different from your typical post-musical Glinda fic. **

Glinda Upland was not feeling like herself. So far, her day had sucked. Her _week _had sucked. It had seemed like the past year had sucked, to tell you the truth. What made it so unbearable?

What a question. First was her fiancee dumping her for her best friend. This was the least of her worries, and you'll see why soon. Next was that very same guy getting killed by his own men. Hey, she still cared about him! Then the worst part... her best friend dying. She had been thinking of little else for the past year. And she still had to be a public figure. She had to grin and bear it. Her popularity had given her a false sense of security, made her think she was unbreakable. Only now did she realize she wasn't. Her vanity had blinded her before now, and she had shaken it off. Now she only wished she could get it back. To stop the pain at least by a little bit. Anything to get rid of the empty feeling inside of her. She blamed herself for Elphaba's death. It wouldn't have ever happened if she had left with Elphaba after finding out how wicked the Wizard really was. Now Glinda was stuck ruling Oz, and had to mask her grief. After all, she could never tell the other Ozians that she was best friends with the Wicked Witch of the West. Her life had been nothing but miserable ever since.

The only exception to this was meeting Shaila. Shaila was one of the palace servants, and she had been very sweet to Glinda. In fact, Shaila was the only one who knew Glinda's secret. She had heard Glinda cry at night and comforted her, though she didn't know why. Eventually, Glinda grew to trust her and explained everything. Shaila was a reliable person. Glinda had been right to trust her. She hadn't breathed a word to the others.

Tears were streaming down Glinda's face. She was sitting in a chair turned against the window. Shaila would be here any minute. A knock at her bedroom door confirmed it.

"Come in," Glinda's voice was choked.

Shaila burst into the room. "Glinda," she said quietly, "I've got an idea."

Glinda looked up at her friend. "Anything helps, really."

Shaila put an arm around Glinda. "I swear it will help. We're going for a walk."

Glinda looked at her like she was crazy. "You're confusifying me. How... why..."

"Take a walk, clear your mind. It's an old saying." Shaila explained. "Maybe you'll feel better."

Glinda sighed. "Maybe it will. You've helped me so much already. I had to tell someone. Someone who I could trust."

Her friend smiled. "Good to know someone trusts me. I miss my best friend too, you know,"

Glinda frowned. "Let's not talk about our deceased friends."

Shaila's best friend Naretha had been killed in a carriage accident the year before. A very distraught girl had found work in the Emerald City shortly after.

Later, the two friends, broken but mending, walked through the Emerald City, blanketed in darkness. They spoke quietly about things that shouldn't have mattered. Neither of them paid any attention to the screaming coming from a couple houses down.

In the house, a woman was doing the screaming. Her husband's eyes were filled with rage as he opened the door, casting her out onto the street. She clutched a tiny child to her chest as she fell down the front steps.

**Cliffhanger. Muahahaha. Do my names sound Ozian enough? I made up the name Shaila, it's pronounced Shy-luh. And Naretha is an Aboriginal name I liked. A new character name in the next chapter will be Aboriginal. I love the way they sound ^_^**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey look a new chapter :D I think I enjoy writing this as much as you guys enjoy reading it! And I'll be your best friend if you review ;)**

Shaila and Glinda rushed over to the woman who had crumpled on the pavement. "Are you OK?" Glinda asked.

Clearly she wasn't. Her arms were covered in gashes and scratches and many were still bleeding. She tried to speak, but only a few garbled words were distinguishable. She was very pale. Her breathing was fast and shallow. Her eyes were sunken and lifeless. Yes, she showed many signs of weakness, but perhaps the only thing she was truly focused on was shielding her child. The child was maybe about two years old and looked at Glinda and Shaila with bright green eyes, innocent as anything. The poor thing was too young to realize what was going on. She just didn't know.

The mother tried to speak again and this time the other two knew what she was saying. And it wasn't good. "You have to run," she was saying. "You have to. Don't let him know you were here."

Shaila and Glinda looked at each other. Who was "him"? The woman gasped and her breathing was faster, more ragged. "What do we do?" Glinda turned to Shaila. "How do we help? Can we help?"

Shaila shrugged. "I know just as much as you do," she replied. "Well, actually I can't do magic. Do you know any good healing spells?"

Glinda tried to think of the incantation. She began to chant under her breath. The woman's breathing became more even. "Lady Glinda?!" she asked.

Glinda nodded. The woman blinked. Her eyes were shifting in and out of focus. "I don't understand," she muttered, more to herself than anyone else. "Can't see... can't..." She began mumbling again. She shook her head and began singing a lullaby to her child, oblivious to where she was and the others around her. In one minute she had become even crazier.

Shaila frowned. Something was terribly wrong with this lady. She had read about this before. Sudden vision problems, inconsistent speech pattern... it all added up to something, but she couldn't remember the name. Her thoughts were interrupted by Glinda's gasp. The woman had passed out.

Shaila opened her mouth to speak, but once again her thoughts were interrupted, not by Glinda, but by a new voice, a cold voice. "GET OFF OF MY PROPERTY!" the man roared.

Glinda rose to her full height. "Excuse me?" she called, advancing towards the door. She knocked harder than necessary. When the man hastened to open the door, Glinda wrenched it open. She almost gagged at the repulsive smell coming from the house.

A man with a hideous face appeared at the door. "Go away! I have no need for you or any of your causes."

"Uh, I rule Oz," Glinda said.

The man laughed. "Yeah, right. And I'm the Wicked Witch of the West."

He had struck a nerve. "Well, you seem far more wicked than she," Glinda snapped. "Please explain this," she pointed at the woman passed out on the sidewalk.

He shrugged. "Never seen her in my life."

He was lying. Glinda could tell. The way he fidgeted, the way he looked her right in the eye without blinking or turning away, trying to prove his innocence. Nice try!

**Ok, I lied. The character with an Aboriginal name isn't in this chapter. Hint: You've already met them! And the other two characters you've met either don't have names yet because I'm really lazy or their names aren't really legitimate. Remember dears, that reviews are love!**


	3. Chapter 3

**OK, I decided to give every character a name :D (you get a name, you get a name, everybody gets a name!). And things will hopefully pick up after this chapter.  
**

"No," Glinda said. "You're lying. I can tell. You know that woman. I saw her come out of this house. Don't deny it."

A momentary look of panic crossed his face, but then returned to its previous state- a mix of angry and annoyed.

The woman had raised her head slightly. "Burnum?" she called. "Burnum, please don't hurt her!"

Glinda raised her eyebrows. "So you do know her. Just as I thought. How exactly do you know her? And don't bother lying. I can tell if you're lying."

Burnum sighed. "Her name is Cardinia. She's... my wife."

Shaila gasped. "Your wife? And the child is..."

"Our daughter."

"And why is she in this condition?" Glinda asked.

Burnum looked around frantically. What could he say? Certainly he couldn't tell this... intruder... about Cardinia's... condition wouldn't be the right word, would it?

But Shaila had pieced things together, the clever person she was. Now she just needed to tell Glinda somehow.

Glinda had an idea of what happened as well. But not the full picture. Not enough.

Cardinia gasped for air for a moment. Shaila helped her move into a sitting position, then gasped in horror.

There was a long, narrow gash in Cardinia's back. Now Shaila was positive that she was correct in her accusation. "Excuse me," she called. "But your wife is suffering from blood loss. How did this come to be? And why is she scared of you, may I ask? Are you purposely hurting her? Because great job, you did. And I think you're going to prison because of this. If Lady Glinda agrees, that is."

Glinda met Shaila's gaze and nodded. Shaila was so smart. Glinda wondered how she managed to become friends with so many smart people. But she'd have time to dwell on that later. She called for guards, and they were there almost instantly. They took Burnum away. He was still protesting, saying that they had a vicious cat.

Shaila rolled her eyes. "How did you figure that you so quickly?" Glinda asked.

Shaila just shrugged. "It just sort of came to me. Cardinia, do you need help getting up?"

The mother nodded. Shaila took her hand and pulled her up. Cardinia staggered for a moment, but Glinda caught her before she fell. Shaila and Glinda lead her to the palace.

But Cardinia seemed to be having more difficulty walking. At Shaila's suggestion, the three sat on a bench so she could catch her breath. Cardinia still held her daughter protectively. "What's your daughter's name?" Glinda asked.

"She..." Cardinia's voice was barely above a whisper. "She does not have a name. Burnum didn't want her to have a name."

"But now that Burnum is out of your hair, will you name her?"

Cardinia shrugged. "I hope to."

_She hopes to? What does that mean? There might be a little girl growing up without a name? _Glinda thought incredulously.

Cardinia suddenly let out a gasp and slumped against the bench. Her daughter stirred and began to cry. At the sound of the wails, Cardenia's eyes flew open. Her daughter was her first priority.

Eventually they did make it to the palace, but they had made a mistake, one that cost them a life. Looking back on it, Shaila had considered what their options were, from when Burnum had left and on. She had pondered this many a night and had come to the conclusion that they should have assessed it the moment they were safe.

But what was it that they forgot?

**What was it? *evil grin* So I actually didn't name the little girl :/ But this will make sense in the next chapter! I promise to update soon! **

***super evil grin* And who dies? You know it's not Shaila. So that leaves Glinda, Cardinia, and the girl. **

**Also, do you like my name choice? Burnum means "fierce warrior" and Cardenia means "the dawn". **

**I come with a bargain today because I'm feeling generous:**

**Whoever reviews gets a preview of the next chapter! Everyone gets the same one, of course. Though it would be kind of cool to distribute my chapter... I'll look into it. But now everyone gets the same preview :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the epic cliffie and then the really long wait! It wasn't that I had writer's block, I'm just lazy.**

What was it they had forgotten?

The gash.

The wound in Cardinia's back.

The one that assured Shaila that Burnum was guilty.

Some of the doctors said it was the wound itself that killed her. No, it must've been the concussion, other doctors had said. No one knew for sure how exactly Cardinia died. But all knew this: Her dying wish was to have Glinda take care of her daughter.

* * *

"I'm sorry, Lady Glinda," the adviser had said. "But you can't take care of this child. You're the ruler of Oz, after all. We can't have everyone wanting you to take care of their child."  
A sob escaped Glinda before she could stop it. Shaila put her arm around her friend. "But her mother is dead! And her father is in prison! She has no one left," Glinda protested.

"It's OK, Glinda," Shaila said. When Glinda looked at her incredulously, she continued. "I'll adopt the child. Is there a problem with that?"

The adviser shook her head slowly and Glinda cheered.

* * *

Shaila named the child Kirrily. Some of the other members of the staff helped Shaila raise her, and of course... Glinda did. Sometimes it was said that Glinda played a bigger part in raising Kirrily than Shaila did. People from outside the castle just figured that Shaila was Kirrily's biological mother. They even looked like they were related, they both had wavy black hair, fair skin, and green eyes. Kirrily just seemed to know from an early age that Shaila wasn't her birth mother. But Shaila loved her like a mother loves her daughter, and the feeling was mutual. That was all Kirrily cared about.

Kirrily was a lonely child. Content, but lonely. Shaila tried desperately to find a friend for her, but Kirrily would have rather read a book inside (she learned to read before any of the other children her age) than run around outside and get dirty. Kirrily didn't like getting dirty, not because she was a snob, but because she saw no point in it. She figured she'd save the servants of the castle some time when it came to laundry. She was practical. She was also patient, but when patience ran out, her temper was sharp and powerful. Sometimes, when Kirrily glared and tilted her head just so, Glinda was reminded of Elphaba.

Shaila figured that if Kirrily went to public school, she would make more friends. Glinda agreed halfheartedly, she remembered being the popular kid back in school. If the main clique didn't know someone, they most likely would shun that someone.

It was a terrible decision on Shaila's part. But she didn't know how terrible school would be for her daughter.

**So sort of a half-cliffie. Sorry for being really short, I wanted this chapter to have two main things to describe: Cardinia's death and the effects of it. I'll update soon, I promise!**


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